Child Protection Authorities
IICSA · The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · Issued 20 October 2022 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, K.2
The Inquiry recommends that the UK government establishes a Child Protection Authority for England and the Welsh Government establishes a Child Protection Authority for Wales. Each Authority's purpose should be to: improve practice in child protection; provide advice and make recommendations to government in relation to child protection policy and reform to improve child protection; and inspect institutions and settings as it considers necessary and proportionate. The Child Protection Authorities in England and in Wales should also monitor the implementation of the Inquiry's recommendations.
IICSA, The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · 20 Oct 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced in the House of Lords in December 2024, including provisions on multi-agency child protection (Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, December 2024).
- No published Child Protection Authority for England or Wales as recommended has been established to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
We accept the need for a stronger safeguarding system. We will ensure the relevant actions included within our reform programme, Stable Homes, Built on Love, fulfil this recommendation.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 31 Jan 2026 Government launched formal consultation on establishing Child Protection Authority in England on 11 December 2025. Consultation closes 5 March 2026, with response expected summer 2026. CPA to be set up in shadow form pending primary legislation. Source →
- 8 Apr 2025 Creating Child Protection Authority in England, building from Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. Resource increase for Panel in 2025/26, consultation on CPA roadmap in 2025, with full CPA implementation timeframe to be determined. Source →
- 21 Jan 2025 · Home Affairs Select Committee Professor Alexis Jay told Home Affairs Committee that £187m was spent on IICSA and "to date none of its final recommendations had been implemented." Called for "full implementation" saying "get it done." View source → No Meaningful Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.